Make wagashi in the confectioner's own kitchen

Seisei-an · Okitsu

Wagashi Making Class with a Fifth-Generation Confectioner, Okitsu

Shape a season with your hands.

Book Your Wagashi Class

A fifth-generation confectioner brings his tools to our house in Okitsu. You make a sweet that exists only in this month — then eat it with tea, in the room where it was made.

Place
Seisei-an
Duration
Approx. 100 min
Group
2–8 guests
Price
On request

Five generations, in a town most people pass through.

The shop has been making sweets in Okitsu since before the railway came. The fifth generation runs it now. He does not have a studio for visitors; he comes to Seisei-an, our house down the road, and works on the table there.

Japanese sweets are tied to the month they are made in. The same shop makes a different thing in April than in November, and the reason is not decoration — the ingredient, the water and the humidity change. What you make is what this month allows.

You will not be decorating a pre-made base. You work the dough, form it, and finish it. It looks simple until you try to make two that match.

What you leave with

Two sweets and one habit of looking.

  • Sweets you made, eaten warm

    One to eat there with tea, one to take. They do not survive long, which is part of what they are.

  • A sense of why it looks like that

    Every curve has a reason — a season, a flower, a mountain. Once you know, you cannot unsee it in a shop window.

  • A different pace for an afternoon

    This is slow work done sitting down. Guests are often surprised how quiet it gets.

How the session moves

The order is the same as the workshop's own.

  1. Meet

    Tea first

    Before anything is made, tea and one of his sweets. You taste the target before you try to hit it.

  2. Learn

    What month it is

    Which ingredient, which shape, and why this one and not another.

  3. Work

    Your hands in the dough

    Forming, by hand and with a wooden tool. He corrects the pressure, not the shape.

  4. Finish

    Two that match

    The test is not beauty. It is making the second one the same as the first.

  5. Eat

    Sit and taste

    With tea, in the same room. The one you keep is wrapped for you.

Interpretation is provided by KAIDO throughout.

A record of an actual session.

Practical

Included

  • Private session — no other group joins yours
  • All ingredients and tools
  • Tea served with the sweets
  • Interpretation between Japanese and English
  • A boxed sweet to take with you

Good to know

  • Contains wheat, and most seasonal sweets contain red bean. Tell us about allergies in the request.
  • The sweets are best eaten the same day. They do not travel well.
  • We work at a low table on tatami. A chair can be arranged.

Getting there

Seisei-an is in Okitsu, on the old Tōkaidō, a short walk from the station.

The house is also a KAIDO stay. If you are sleeping here, the session happens in the room you are staying in.

Questions we are asked

How much is it?
We quote for each request. The confectioner comes to the house for your group alone, and the sweet changes with the month, so we answer with a price once we know the date and the number of people.
Can we choose what to make?
Not exactly. The month decides. Tell us when you are coming and we will tell you what it will be.
Is it suitable for children?
Yes. It is one of the easier experiences to join at any age.
Vegetarian or vegan?
Most seasonal sweets are plant-based already. Tell us in the request and we will confirm for the month you are coming.

Send a request

Tell us your date and how many of you there are. We will check with the confectioner, tell you what the month allows, and answer with a price.

Request this experience

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